The Original Mark
by selena8liu
Summary: Sofia, a girl in Ancient Greece, is the first to receive her Mark of Athena quest from her mother. What will happen next? How will she survive? Rated K for minimal violence.
1. Chapter 1: Athena's Visit

That morning that my mother suddenly appeared in front of my vegetable cart might have been the biggest surprise of my life. And that's saying something, since I've had a LOT of surprises. On my father's side was a distant relative, whose claiming, which included a chicken, underwear, and Apollo, I had witnessed. I practically jumped two feet high when I saw the chicken burst out from underneath the tent, covered with (this is gross) UNDERWEAR.

But this-this was different. My mother was so busy up on Olympus that she rarely ever even _talked_ to me, much less come down and visit. What was even more surprising was the way she acted. _My _mother, the most levelheaded Olympian, had been reduced to _this_? Yep, Athena, or, if you're a Roman, Minerva, was reduced to a raving scatterbrain, hungry for revenge.

"M-Mother?" I'd stammered. "What brings you down to Earth?"

She looked at me. "You are my child?"

"Yes, of course," I replied. "I'm Sofia_[Which, by the way, is actually how "wisdom" in Greek("σοφία")is pronounced]_, remember?"

"Good. See what I am reduced to now?" Her form shimmered, showing her Roman form, complete with an owl and white toga. She looked at it and wrinkled her nose in disgust. "_They _did this to me. _They _stripped me of my property, my titles, my identity."

"Minerva?"

"Don't call me that! I'm no longer a war goddess to _them_. _They _have no respect for me. I once held victory in the palm of my hand. But now, it's all gone." She rubbed her hand wistfully, as if the winged goddess Nike still were standing on her palm. Then she looked at me again. "You are my child?" she repeated.

"Yes."

"Avenge me for what _they_ have done. Avenge me, and give the Romans what they deserve." She pressed a small metal disk into my hand. "Avenge me!" she repeated a last time, then vanished with a blinding light I managed to avoid, leaving me alone with a disk and a surely crazy, likely impossible, quest.


	2. Chapter 2: Starting the Quest

**Well, how's ****_that_**** for speedy, boss? (reference to ****_The Last Olympian_****) Enjoy!**

**~~~DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own the PJO series. I'm not even entirely sure that I can pronounce "Rick Riordan" correctly anyway...~~~**

After tossing and turning all night, in part because I was afraid of the dreams I'd get, I finally made my decision. Yes, it was a crazy one, but what choice did I have? If I refused, Athena-or Minerva-would be simply furious, I presumed. Better to do the quest and say I tried than to not give it a chance. And who knows? Maybe Athena _was_ sane after all. I looked at the disk in my hand, heart weighed down with pressure, yet soaring with wonder and questions yet unanswered. And right then and there, I knew what to do. Or, rather, Chiron would know what to do. I set off running towards my chariot, not caring that it was the middle of the night.

Riding and driving a chariot is hard work, even if your mother invented it. Or, I suppose, if your father created horses. But the rivalry between Athena and Poseidon is so strong that I doubt two of their children would work together well in 500 years. By the time I got to the farm where Chiron lived, I was huffing and puffing like the big, bad wolf, and wheezing like a dolphin with asthma(And, by the way, you do _not_ want to hear that twice in your life). It drained the last bits of strength out of me just to yell out, "Chiron! Are you there? It's me, Sofia!" (AN: There were no doors like we use today in Ancient Greece. Use your imagination to picture how you could've gotten into Chiron's house.) I would have collapsed on the ground right there had Chiron not opened the door just in time. He caught me just as I started to fall.

Chiron lived in a humble little wooden cottage and owned the meadow, forest, and farmland next to it. But you'd never guess that if you met him on the street. He acted humbly, but there was something about him, the aura of quiet dignity, of power and wisdom and kindness all at once, that made you trust him and know that he was somebody who mattered.

When I woke up, panic surged through me. For a moment, I couldn't remember what I was doing here in a cottage. For all I knew, this could be the hideout of some monster, shielded by the Mist, where they devoured helpless humans and demigods in distress. Then, when I saw Chiron's face, I remembered everything and relaxed.

"Ch-Chiron?" I asked.

"Yes, Sofia?" he said, looking up from the scroll he was examining.

"Well, it's strange, really, very much," I began, "and you'll have to swear on the River Styx not to tell anyone unless the time is ripe."

"When will that be, my dear?"

"I don't know, really," I admitted. "But I suppose the gods will tell you, or I will tell you. Just-just swear that you won't tell anyone who is mortal about it unless you have to."

"Very well, Sofia," he replied. "I swear on the River Styx that I won't tell any mortal about whatever you tell me unless I must." Thunder rumbled. _Well, the gods are watching us, _I thought. _I'm not sure whether that's a good thing or bad thing, though._

"So, Chiron, now that you've sworn not to tell, I'll tell you what happened. Yesterday morning, Athena suddenly appeared in front of me..." And I began to tell the story.

When I reached the end, Chiron asked, "May I see that metal disk your mother gave you?"

"Of course," I replied, and pulled it out of the secret compartment of my handmade chariot.

He studied it closely, furrowing his brow, then announced, "It appears that this disk carries an enchantment. Its contents can only be seen when the owner is alone." He handed it back to me. "Use it well."

"So, Chiron, what do we do?" I wondered.

"Well, I think the Oracle owes us a visit," he said thoughtfully. "I'll Iris-message Apollo." He fished a golden drachma out of a bag and threw it into the fountain in the corner of his cottage. "O Iris, goddess of the rainbow, accept my offering. Show me Apollo on Olympus." The mist shimmered, and Apollo appeared. He and Apollo had a rapid conversation in Ancient Greek, so fast that their lips were a blur and I couldn't follow along. Then Chiron sliced his hand through the mist, turned, and said to me, "Apollo's coming. Until then, avert your eyes."

Apollo and the Oracle of Delphi, Kathleen, appeared in a blinding flash of light.

"Hello, Lord Apollo," I greeted. "Hi, Kate!"

Instead of answering, Kathleen's eyes rolled back into her head, and her mouth billowed green smoke. In a strange, tripled voice, she said:

_You shall find your answers on a cold piece of metal,_

_You will follow the Mark as branch turns to petal._

_You'll find three new friends, but many more foes,_

_And one will be gone by arrows and bows,_

_Another swayed by enemies' woos,_

_Leaving just one with values and trues._

And with that, she collapsed. Apollo looked at me. "Sorry about that," he apologized. "There are some technical difficulties. Until then," he said, putting a hand on my forehead, "sweet dreams."

I wanted to argue, but my eyes were already closing.

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	3. Chapter 3: Figuring it Out

**Hi all! In case you missed my last disclaimer, I DO NOT own the PJO series! I'm not Rick Riordan! Anyway, enjoy! :)**

_In my dream, I was sailing on a boat, which was struggling to fight the strong current that churned underneath it, fighting to stay upright in a roaring storm. Lightning flashed, jagged streaks of light across the sky, and thunder growled and rumbled. Even in the dream, I could feel the tension in the air, the goosebumps on my skin, and the fear, anger, and resentment I felt. I looked to my left, and, to my relief, I spotted land! The island was fairly large, with two stone pillars on it. I spotted a figure standing by them. The trees on the island were bare now, but they hinted that they had been spouting new leaves, but the storm-or something else-had somehow carried them away. Then, suddenly, I stood in a dark cavern, watching a fiery owl shape, the symbol of my mother, dissolve into a black stone(probably obsidian-I know, great time to know this, while being trapped in a cave, but hey, I can't help it!) wall, its last embers sparking. Then I turned and heard an outraged yell, and a voice boomed, "Well, well, what do we have here?"_

I woke up in a cold sweat, convinced that that really had happened, but I was in Chiron's cabin and remembered what had REALLY happened. Chiron saw that I was awake, and asked me, "What exactly did you dream?"

"I-I was on a boat, sailing..." I began, telling him the story.

When I was done, Chiron stared out into space, rubbing his chin.

"Hmmm... What exactly did that voice sound like?" he wondered.

"Well, it was a low voice, loud and booming like this: 'Well, well, what do we have here?'" I said, changing my voice for the second part. "But... it felt like something was missing to the voice. It wasn't strong and healthy. It felt drier, like whoever's voice it was hadn't been used for a long time."

"Ah, well, Sofia," Chiron said, "that is the voice of a ghost."

"A ghost?" I asked. "Do you know whose ghost?"

"Well, if not for the fact that he were immortal, the Titan Atlas would be a good guess..." he said, trailing off.

"Chiron," I said suddenly. "What of the prophecy? Shall we connect it, the dream, and other clues?"

"Of course," he answered.

I thought about the prophecy:

_"You shall find your answers on a cold piece of metal,_

_You will follow the Mark as branch turns to petal._

_You'll find three new friends, but many more foes,_

_And one will be gone by arrows and bows,_

_Another swayed by enemies' woos,_

_Leaving just one with values and trues."_

I wrote it all down on the sheet of parchment. (Being the daughter of Athena, it helps to do that.) "What does it all mean?" I wondered aloud.

"Well..." Chiron began, "the 'cold piece of metal' is obviously the disk your mother gave you. What else would it be?"

"Yes," I agreed. "I'll study it -_alone- _as soon as possible."

"That would be best," he agreed. "Hmm... Well, 'branch turns to petal' sounds interesting. How could a branch turn to petal? Maybe somewhere there's a magic tree..."

"Maybe that's not what it means!" I exclaimed. "Maybe it's figuratively, like... seasons! In winter, there are branches, but afterwards, spring comes along with flowers!"

"Well, we figured that part out," said Chiron. "The rest is self-explanatory."

"Now I know when to start!" I said. "Right now it's February 20. We'll just have to wait until the first signs of spring! In the meantime, I'll get ready."

And with that, I ran off, pleased at what I'd figured out.

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